Provisions: A guide for what you need to buy, read or consume to enhance your recreation and travel experience

Those who like carrying water bottles instead of a hydration pack on long trail adventures, yet hate the idea of carrying empty bottles for miles, should check out collapsible bottles. They’re made by Hydrapak, the same folks who make bladders for many hydration vests. The bottles are made out of the same material and come in sizes ranging from 5 ounces to 25 ounces. They are as easy to grasp – at least the 17-ouncer was – as a standard plastic bottle. And, when you’ve drained it, you can roll up the bottle and stash it in the pocket of your shorts.

The gear-nerd website Blister Gear raves about this new back-country ski helmet. If you have the guts enough to venture deep into the back country and you do not have a death wish, this seems the cranium protection you need. It features a Swedish design, called Multi-directional Impact Protection System, that helps protect the skull from concussions (and worse). Plus, the helmet is relatively lightweight (450 grams), features a goggles vent and six vents at various spots to keep you from overheating.

Here’s a good time-waster at work – comical, but with serious overtones. Runners need to be hyper-alert running on the roads, especially now that the darker winter months are ahead. This humorous “survey” asks you five questions about your running habits and then spits out the date and manner in which you will die during a run. Mine was this: “You will die Thursday 12th January 2034 during a killer hill session. ... You will nod at an angry jogger and they will assume you are coming onto them. They smother you with their sweaty running vest. Death will happen 3 miles into your favorite route.”